


Textbook Happy Endings

by sryr



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Domestic, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 14:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7174739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sryr/pseuds/sryr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Was offering to adopt someone a strange birthday present? Were they moving too fast? No one could say, but if everyone was happy, did it even matter?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Textbook Happy Endings

**Author's Note:**

> I managed fluff? Kind of? I think? This is startling for me and frankly I'm a little embarrassed, but coming in with the future aruju week prompt approximately an hour late my time! I'm a sucker for Aruju with Elize as their daughter save me. Also, summaries and titles are not coming to me today so forgive me for they feel lamer than usual.
> 
> quick note though: this does take place after tox2, but i don’t think it really follows any of the endings, so for the sake of cute situations please accept this negligence on my part. thank you!

“When were we supposed to meet up with Leia again?” Jude asked turning his head slightly so Alvin could hear better, though not moving away from the stove.

“Next week, maybe? I’ll check,” the former mercenary called back as the fact he was closer to the calendar was likely why Jude even asked. The reporter had scheduled a so called top secret meeting to put together the ‘Most Perfect, Totally Awesome Super Secret Birthday Party’ for Elize who was to be turning fourteen in just a couple weeks. It had been a bit difficult to discern a proper date given how murky the girl’s past was, but with help from Rowen and Gaius what few documents remained of her childhood were able to be found hidden among Auj Oule’s secret projects.

It wasn’t really something anyone, Elize especially, liked to think about, but the fact she hadn’t been given a proper birthday party since just the year prior was something all of them agreed simply wouldn’t fly. Leia was especially adamant about it as with the tradition Leronde had she was always working with her father to plan parties for various people around town.

Personally, Jude had no opinion when it came to his own birthday and neither did Alvin as he struggled to even remember his own, but with how close they’d grown to Elize the three of them were determined to make it one of the best days in her life thus far.  

As Alvin looked over the calendar though, another date stood out and it actually made him sheepish if not apologetic for forgetting about it. Circled around the date and glossed by the side was Jude’s cute handwriting stating that today was their apparent anniversary. Honestly, that date too was murky as the exact timing of their supposed relationship was unclear in of itself. Since Jude was the one who circled it, that must be the date he considered them a couple, but it was difficult on Alvin’s part as there were aspects to it that he was hesitant to call real compared to maybe how Jude saw it. It brought a frown to his face just thinking of it, but he already vowed and swore to Jude he wasn’t like that anymore; that he wouldn’t ever lie to him if he could help it.

Drawing it out of his mind not to ruin the morning, he quickly scanned the rest of the week confirming the exact day and time written down for when Leia told them to meet her. After taking an extra second to finish adjusting his scarf, he moved back out to join Jude in the kitchen and embraced him from behind, twisting just enough to kiss his cheek without necessarily getting in the way.

“Has it really been a year?” Alvin murmured watching Jude stir the soup in the pot in front of them. If it was true, it certainly made him happy that he managed to keep him around that long, but at the same time, it did make various insecurities surface.

A soft smile spread on the doctor’s face though it still remained facing away from Alvin, “It has; time sure flies doesn’t it?”

They had been through a lot in the past year and even before that, much of which, admittedly Jude wasn’t fond of thinking about either, but he hadn’t regretted his decision to start dating Alvin. They had only started living together the past few months, but it’s only helped more than damaged their relationship.

He brought a free hand he wasn’t using to cook with up to hold the arm around him as he knew even if it wasn’t evident in Alvin’s voice, he had a faint idea of what it was the other likely was thinking of. One of the things that had surprised him had been just how false Alvin’s confidence was compared to how he first introduced himself. Truthfully, it had been that along with how safe the man made him feel that first attracted Jude to him, but even learning of what problems Alvin had it hadn’t stopped him from loving the other. If anything, it just made him feel determined to help.

“You’re telling me, soon enough I won’t have to learn down as far to kiss you,” he teased giving Jude another kiss before heading towards the cupboards to begin setting the table.

“And I’ll have to be assuring you that your grey hairs look very handsome, right?” Jude joked right back, as he knew how sensitive Alvin was about appearances. Jude himself was at times sensitive about his height given how he wasn’t fond of how delicate he appeared, so it was only fair he give a similar gibe right back.

“You’re getting meaner and meaner, I guess I’m rubbing off on you, huh?” Alvin countered though he wondered if it was necessarily a good thing. There wasn’t really anything inherently bad about what he replied with given how he only reassured that he would still love him in the years to come. The idea of Jude still willing to be with him for anything longer than just one year was nice if not a little frightening to worry about minding that proved not to end up true. He may be vain, but it was more his personality that he feared Jude would one day come to detest even though he’d done some terrible things already that had been forgiven.

“I hope I didn’t come off as too mean,” he scratched his cheek at that though Alvin didn’t seem that bothered by it. As he began to serve the soup into the bowls Alvin brought over, the other couldn’t help laughing at such a statement.

“Nah, you’ve grown a bigger backbone for sure, but I don’t think it’s physically possible for you to be anything but a do-gooder.”

Jude wasn’t sure whether to be offended or not by a statement like that, though he wasn’t particularly eager to be mean to anyone. With a person like Alvin he’d just grown to be more affectionately teasing similar to how he reacted with Leia. Thinking of his old childhood friend only returned him to the subject that started it all though.

“Oh, right so what day were we supposed to see Leia? I know Elize’s birthday is in a couple weeks, but if we’re late or can’t make it she’ll probably kill me,” Jude sighed as he finished putting the ladle back in the pot for now moving with Alvin to sit at their kitchen table.

“It’s two days from now around noon. Taking time off for it won’t be hard for me, and I’d better hope you can make it. I can bully Balan into letting you off for a few hours if he gives you trouble though so don’t worry.”

“I’m not really worried about that and while I don’t really like having to take time off I do want Elize to have a good birthday…”

“You already think of something to get the princess by the way? Every time I ask her what she wants Teepo yells at me to make it a surprise or get more creative,” Alvin groaned just thinking about it as there were a few things he could think of she might like, but for as much as he teased her he too wanted her to have a good birthday.

Jude took a moment to have some of the soup while thinking. These days they didn’t get to meet up often, but with the interest in academics she now had upon getting to go to school he picked up a nice collection of fairy tales she might like. They weren’t necessarily for young children, but as a kid he remembered enjoying some of them and there were a few Elympion ones that were recently translated and added to it.

All in all it was a very… Jude gift, but he hoped she’d like it nonetheless.

“Of course you’d get a book, but then again from what I hear she’s turning out to be quite the honors student too.”

The conversation lulled briefly as they took the chance to actually eat while thinking. Though, taking the time to notice the food made an idea come mind from a conversation Jude overheard them having quite a while back.

“Right, wasn’t there some meal you guys mentioned once? I only heard a snippet of the conversation though something about a pink sushi bowl?”

It did ring a few bells and after a moment the conversation came back to mind.

“Oh, right that. Hmm, maybe I could try making it as part of her dinner though aren’t you and Leia planning to arrange one of those roast chickens for her out of tradition or something? Plus, she started adding some weird stuff to mix.”

“Oh yeah… hmm well we can look when we’re done helping Leia then, how’s that sound?”

“You’d think she’d be easier to shop for, but nope. Who knew little girls were this difficult to figure out…”

Jude laughed a little at that bringing a hand to cover his resulting smile as he did so. It was only evident from how hard Alvin was trying how important Elize was to him and it was rather cute.  They had a habit of bickering more lately, but it was clear the girl found him just as important. If she wasn’t so far away and going to school, he’d actually consider asking Alvin about taking her in, but given the circumstances and his own insecurities about being anything resembling a parent the topic was hard to bring up.

“Say, do you think it’d be strange to ask if she’d live want to live with us someday?” Alvin asked his voice oddly hesitant if not outright nervous. It wasn’t a surprise he’d been thinking something similar with the subject at hand, but it was a little startling that he’d also sincerely thought of it as a possibility.

Jude’s fingers rubbed around the edge of the cup of tea he’d made for himself with their meal as he wanted to voice what thoughts he had on the matter, but at the same time the image of them having a little family was one he couldn’t deny he thought about sometimes.

Their whole friend circle in some ways felt like its own sort of family, but in particular, it was one of those steps a relationship sometimes took. Jude was still rather young and focused on his research, but even when he had been struggling to figure out his life a year or so ago he hadn’t regretted for a moment taking Elize into their little party. Imagining her sitting at the table with them or helping her with homework sounded nice.

“I’m a little nervous about how good of a parent I’d be, but I… have thought of it before.”

“Me too.”

They grew silent again as it was a difficult thing to consider, but at the same time it was one of the few gifts—if Alvin could call it that—he’d been thinking about.

“What if I offered as a birthday present? I mean, I’ll try and find something else just in case it comes out bad, but—”

“Maybe we can try for a bit? If she wants that is; she still is in school after all.”

“Damn, you’re right…”

Alvin rested his chin on his palm and watched Jude from the other side of the table. Though he never expected it, there had been a slight concern that he’d be laughed at for thinking of something like this, but it was a little encouraging to know he’d been wondering the same thing. All in all, some aspects looked impossible for now, but maybe Jude’s suggestion would work as she’d be on break in a month or two. It all really depended on what she wanted, but with the signs he’d picked up each time he or Jude tried to spoil her, he hoped that it wouldn’t go over poorly.

Laughing, he instead turned the topic back to the present, “It’s only been a year and we’re sitting here thinking of adopting a child, we’re moving a little fast, huh?”

“I’d say this past year has been pretty fast, but… I don’t regret any of it either.”

The admittance was shocking enough to be noticeable on Alvin’s face. It only resulted in Jude getting embarrassed, “Was that… a little too honest?”

“No, no,” Alvin quickly exclaimed beginning to feel a bit flushed himself, “no more lies remember?” The statement had been more something that applied to him more than Jude, but it only served to show how far they’ve come.

“Right,” Jude answered him a smile on his face.

“Let’s eat out tonight. Doesn’t have to be fancy, but I mean it is a special day,” Alvin actually would have put the effort of putting a reservation down somewhere more upscale if he had remembered the date, but he would for sure next time.

“We can stop by a shop on the way home. Think a nice pair of ribbons will be enough to make up for how much I’ll probably embarrass myself trying to ask Elize if she’d like to stay with us over break will go?”

Jude merely nodded and laughed again at the image it brought forth.


End file.
